''It's the Holiday Season'' is the fourteenth studio album and second Christmas album by

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocated to Nashville, T ...

. It was released on October 19, 2018.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Holiday Albums chart, with 1,400 copies sold in the first week. It has sold 15,100 copies in the United States as of January 2019. This was the last recording composer Patrick Williams contributed prior to his death. The album is dedicated in memory to him.

Track listing

Personnel

Vocals and Rhythm Section * Martina McBride – lead vocals *

Tom Ranier Thomas John Ranier (born July 13, 1949) is an American instrumentalist who primarily plays piano but also saxophone and clarinet. As a jazz artist he has recorded widely under his own name and as a sideman for Warner Bros., Concord Records and se ...

– grand piano * Graham Dechter – guitar *

Chuck Berghofer Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937) is an American double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked in jazz and as a session musician in the film industry for more than 60 years, including working on more than 400 movie soundtracks. ...

– bass guitar *

Peter Erskine Peter Clark Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the d ...

– drums * Daniel Greco – percussion * Mark Ivey – backing vocals * Marabeth Quil – backing vocals * Kira Small – backing vocals * Bergen White – backing vocals, vocal arrangements Orchestra * Patrick Williams – arrangements and conductor * Elliot Deutsch – additional arrangements (6) * Joe Soldo – contractor * Ralph Morrison – concertmaster * Gordon Berger, Bill Edwards, J.B. Griffiths, Daniel Perito and Terry Woodson – music copyists ;Horns *

Dan Higgins Dan Higgins (born January 28, 1957, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as John Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, M ...

and Don Shelton – alto saxophones *

Gene Cipriano Gene Fred Cipriano (July 6, 1928 – November 12, 2022), known familiarly as "Cip", was an American woodwindist and session musician, playing clarinet, oboe, flute and saxophone among other instruments. He played on hundreds of recording sessions ...

– baritone saxophone * Jeff Driskill and

Bob Sheppard Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), a ...

– tenor saxophones * Ben Devitt – bass trombone * Charles Loper, Bob McChesney and Charlie Morillas – tenor trombones *

Wayne Bergeron Wayne Bergeron (born January 16, 1958) is an American trumpeter. Bergeron rose to prominence as a member of Maynard Ferguson's band in the 1980s. Since then, he has worked on over 500 TV and motion picture soundtracks. As a lead and studio pla ...

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical ab ...

, Rob Schaer and Michael Stever – trumpet ;Strings * Timothy Loo, Christina Soule and John Walz – cello * Amy Wilkins – harp * Andrew Duckles, Matt Funes and Carolyn Riley – viola * Darius Campo, Neel Hammond, Carrie Kennedy, Johana Krejci, Joel Pargman, Alyssa Park, Radu Pieptea, Neil Samples, Mary Sloan, Jenny Takamatsu and Ina Veli – violin

Production

* Martina McBride – producer *

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto (band), Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jone ...

– recording, mixing * Steve Genewick – recording assistant * Chandler Harrod – mix assistant * Allen Ditto – vocal recording * John McBride – additional mixing * Jory Roberts – additional mix assistant * Chris Small – digital editing * Ryan Smith – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York) * Glenn Sweitzer – package design * Joseph Llanes – photography * Courtney Kivela Robinson – wardrobe stylist * Lindsay Doyle – hair, make-up

References

External links

* 2018 Christmas albums Martina McBride albums BBR Music Group albums Christmas albums by American artists Country Christmas albums {{2010s-country-album-stub